Google Launching 'Hot Trends' Search

Want to know what everyone else is searching? Google hopes you do. The company is putting a bit more focus on its "Hot Trends" feature, by incorporating it directly into search results.

Want to know what everyone else is searching? Google hopes you do. The company is putting a bit more focus on its "Hot Trends" feature, by incorporating it directly into search results. Beginning later this afternoon, users who search for a popular topic will see a Hot Trends box among their results.

The box lets users know how their search term rates, in terms of "hotness," using terms such as "On Fire" and "Volcanic," and listing its rank amongst the current 100 most popular search terms.

"To coincide with this change, we've also reduced the number of trends listed on the Google Hot Trends homepage to 40 from 100," Google wrote in a blog post. "This feature, however, will show up for any query that matches the top 100."

It doesn't take much imagination to view the feature as a direct response to the added focus imbued on "Trending Topics," thanks to Twitter. It's also interesting to watch Google beef up its search a bit, in the wake of Microsoft's growing Bing push.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 1pm Eastern time with additional information from Google.

Brian Heater has worked at a number of tech pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served as Senior Editor). Most recently, he was as the Managing Editor of TechTimes.com. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Lucy.
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